One type of telecommunication network is a wireless network. In a wireless network, two or more devices communicate over a wireless communication link (for example, over a radio frequency (RF) communication link). In one wireless network topology, one or more remote nodes communicate with a central node (also referred to here as a “base station”) over respective wireless communication links. In such a topology, pre-existing network infrastructure is typically provided. In one example, a network of base stations, each of which is coupled to one or more wired networks, is provided. In such a topology, the remote nodes typically do not communicate with one another directly. One example of such a network is a cellular telephone network.
In another wireless network topology (referred to here as “ad-hoc”), no predetermined infrastructure is provided. Typically, an ad-hoc network is made up of a dynamic group of nodes that communicate over wireless communication links. In such an ad-hoc network, at least some of the nodes act as routers. For example, one or more such nodes are used to route a packet from a source node to a destination node, when the destination node is not within the transmission range of the source node. This is referred to here “hopping” and is used to establish the dynamic interconnection structure in an ad-hoc wireless network.
Because wireless communication links used in ad-hoc wireless networks are typically prone to a large variation in quality, providing quality of service (QOS) is important in applications that have demanding bandwidth and delay requirements. Examples of such applications include multimedia (for example, voice and video), real-time, and/or mission critical applications such as combat support systems.